IntroductionSubwoofers
are perhaps the hardest speaker in an AV system for consumers to
evaluate. This is due in part to the fact that the best performing
subwoofer isn’t necessarily the one that creates the lowest bass
response or that rattles the rafters with the greatest fury, but rather
the one that best blends with your entire system. When a subwoofer is
perfectly matched to your system, you are in theory unable to locate
its position and rock-bottom bass would seem to be emanating from your
main front loudspeakers. The in-room bass response or, more accurately,
your personal room response is what you are really looking for. Herein
lies the problem. Unless you are an acoustics guru with sophisticated
sound-measuring equipment, you have little chance of getting your new
sub to sound great in your room.

Bob Carver, a man perhaps best known for making small
subwoofers popular, offers his newest solution to the problem of
correctly setting up a woofer. The latest Sunfire woofer is a sub that
employs room equalization, capable of EQing your low-end performance to
properly integrate with your room without the need for a professional.

The Sunfire True Subwoofer EQ Signature is a small cube subwoofer that
boasts an awe-inspiring 2,700 watts of amplification, has an
intelligent automatic internal EQ and can reportedly play at greater
than 116 dB peaks. Considering its features, the Sunfire True Sub
Signature is competitively priced at $2,195.

Set-up
The Sunfire True Signature EQ Subwoofer is an attractive speaker. Its
high gloss deep bing cherry finish affords it an expensive look and
feel. While measuring only 13 inches cubed and packed with dual 12-inch
drivers, the True Subwoofer EQ Signature is considerably hefty at 48
pounds. The True Signature EQ is powered by a 2,700-watt internal
amplifier which utilizes Carver’s patented Tracking Downconverter
Technology included in Sunfire’s electronics. These amplifiers are
designed to provide instantaneous power in abundance to control your
heaviest demands. Critics and high-end snobs say Carver’s amps aren’t
as quiet in terms of overall noise as you might expect from a
big-dollar Krell or Linn amp and they are on some levels right.
However, when powering a subwoofer, these issues are really irrelevant.
Carver’s amps rock and deliver lots of juice when you need it, which
for both his subs and his home theater amps is just the ticket.

One needs to look no further than the rear control panel to realize the
True Signature EQ is a seriously engineered product. With an assortment
of knobs including Volume, Crossover Frequency and Phase Control, and
three sets of inputs, including a Balanced XLR input and a LED display
for the equalizer, one might think this sub is difficult to set up.
This couldn’t be further from the truth. I placed the EQ Signature in
the same spot where my Sunfire Signature Mark IV used to sit and used
the existing cable from my Proceed AVP2 to connect it to the RCA line
level inputs.

I looked forward to using Sunfire’s Automatic EQ Mode for customizing
the sound of the Signature EQ in my room for several reasons, most
notably that, although I am an AV professional, it is very difficult
(some suggest impossible) to accurately equalize a subwoofer manually
by ear. It’s likely that most of you fall into the same boat, thus
making the use the Automatic EQ mode essential. A small microphone with
a very long wire is included with the True Signature EQ sub to
facilitate the automatic equalization process. I placed the microphone
in my primary listening position, plugged it into Sunfire, dialed in
the Volume, Crossover, Phase and Equalizer Authority knobs to positions
indicated in the short but effective User’s Manual and pushed the
“start” button. After less than one minute listening to the subwoofer
run various low-frequency test tones, the equalization process was
complete. The Sunfire True Signature EQ was no doubt the easiest
product to set up in my entire theater, including my new Revel
loudspeakers, which require considerable fidgeting to get their
placement just right. In about 20 minutes, I had the Sunfire unpacked,
the instruction manual read, the cables connected and the equalization
process complete. I was ready to begin my listening.

Music and MoviesI
began my evaluation on a Sunday morning with my usual routine of beebop
and good coffee. When reviewing a subwoofer, I prefer to begin with
acoustic instrumentation, casually work my way into the more electric
stuff and finally end with movies. I keep the “Special” button on my
Proceed AVP2 remote programmed to toggle the subwoofer on and off for
late-night movie watching in my New York apartment, useful not only for
offering my neighbors “LFE-relief” but also useful in this Sunfire
evaluation, helping to distinguish differences in listening with and
without the Sunfire in the mix.

I reached on this New York snowy Sunday for John Coltrane’s Giant Steps
(Atlantic 1960). Right from the opening of “Spiral,” I was taken by the
potent yet unobtrusive nature of the Sunfire. Paul Chambers’ bass
sounded eerily lifelike as the Sunfire integrated beautifully with my
Revels. Importantly to me, the Sunfire never greedily took over my
listening space as other powerful subwoofers frequently do. It was the
kind of bass that delicately and tastefully made the acoustic bass and
kick drum sound and feel real. This proved that the automatic EQ set-up
worked, and worked well. “Mr. PC,” a classic and fast-paced hard bop
tune, was the next obvious track selection, chosen primarily to test
the quickness of the Sunfire. Keeping up with my Revels, and with John
Coltrane’s speedy playing, was a cinch for the Sunfire. The bass, right
down to the deepest audible frequencies, never sounded strained or
muddy, not even to the slightest degree. The Sunfire was impressively
precise and quick on “Mr. PC.”

The more I listened the more I wanted to play my beloved bop, so I put
on the 24-bit remaster of Lee Morgan’s The Sidewinder (Blue Note 1961;
Capitol 1999). On the title track, “The Sidewinder,” the rhythm section
of Bob Cranshaw (bass), Barry Harris (piano) and Billy Higgins (drums)
creates a wonderful space and groove that lets Lee Morgan (trumpet) and
Hoe Henderson (tenor sax) work their magic. The rhythm has a consistent
deep groove that was made even more enjoyable by the Sunfire. As I
would have expected from my prior listening on “Giant Steps,” the
Sunfire gave “The Sidewinder” a more authoritative presence in the
lower octaves. Frequently on older recordings, this is exactly what the
doctor ordered and was particularly true on “Gary’s Notebook,” where
Harris’ bass frequently gets a bit lost and needed resurrection. The
Sunfire EQ did such a great job here that when I toggled it off, I was
aghast as to where poor Barry’s bass had gone. High marks for the
Signature EQ on Lee Morgan.

Next, for some intense rock ‘n’ roll, I reached for the DVD-Audio of
Queen’s The Game (DTS 2002). I began with the hit “Another One Bites
the Dust,” where Roger Taylor (drums) and John Deacon (bass) dominate
the track. The Sunfire EQ Signature rocked here, period. The bass was
deep, tight and made my chest thump as I turned the volume higher and
higher (to my neighbors’ dismay, I am certain). Listening to “Crazy
Little Thing Called Love,” the Sunfire demonstrated that it is much
more than a chest-pounding bass machine for listening to rock ‘n’ roll
as it carried Deacon’s melodic and familiar walking bass line with
uncanny precision and smoothness. I finished my listening of Queen with
“Don’t Try Suicide.” Much as on other tracks on “The Game,” I found the
Sunfire to deliver the goods with precision and a balanced presence –
not too forward, yet deep, punchy and strong in the lower octaves.
Deacon’s bass had greater texture and was full but not obnoxiously so
and Taylor’s drums were punchy and deep, particularly the kick drum.

Throughout my listening with the True Subwoofer EQ Signature, it
provided great energy without ever becoming congested or reaching the
end of its capabilities, even at extreme volumes. When a sub is set up
correctly, you cannot tell where its energy is emanating from. It
merely sounds like tight bass coming from your front main loudspeakers.
The automatic set-up was so effective that I can’t imagine achieving
this level without the services of a professional. I was inspired by
the ease and accuracy of its EQ feature.

I
began my movie watching with George Lucas’ masterful conclusion to the
“Star Wars” trilogy, “Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi” (Twentieth
Century Fox Home Entertainment and Lucasfilm LTD, 2004). As the most
recent movie in the trilogy, Episode VI has the best quality soundtrack
and seemed a reasonable choice for my Sunfire evaluation. In Chapter
10, “Oh No, the Rancor,” when Jedi knight Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill)
fights the Rancor in Jabba the Hut’s palace, the footsteps of the
Rancor provided enough deep bass to offer a sense of realism to the
battle between the young Jedi and the monster. When Skywalker finally
slays the monster by crushing him under the falling gate, the Sunfire
performed admirably, producing a deep thud. Finally, with the
conclusion of Chapter 12, “The Sarlacc Pit,” when Jabba’s ship is
destroyed, the explosion that ensues just would not be the same without
a subwoofer of the Sunfire’s capabilities to deliver the goods with
deep, room-shaking bass.

I concluded my time with the Sunfire Subwoofer EQ Signature by watching
director Ridley Scott and producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s “Black Hawk
Down” (Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment, 2001). Winner of an Academy
Award for Best Sound, “Black Hawk Down,” with its war action scenes
dominated by gunfire, explosions and helicopters, is an ideal
soundtrack to strain all but the best subwoofers. In Chapter Four,
“Irene,” the deployment of U.S. Marines for their attack on Mogadishu
is dominated by the liftoff of several Black Hawk helicopters and the
music of Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile.” The soundtrack here is simply
unbelievable and it seemed the only thing missing that could have
enhanced the movie experience was wind from copter turbines and the
desert dust blowing through my living room. I briefly listened to
“Irene” at near-uncomfortable sound levels and the only way I can
describe how the Sunfire performed would be to tell you that I felt
more reassured holding the glass of water that I was drinking rather
than resting it on the small table in front of for fear it would
vibrate clear off the edge.

The Downside
For the lowest of lows, the Sunfire cannot hit the depths that, say, a
bigger woofer like a Revel B15 can. Granted, a B15 is twice the price,
so you do get incrementally better performance. The B15 is also much
bigger, so in homes where placement is an issue, the Sunfire tends to
win out. Velodyne has comparably priced subwoofers that have been very
well reviewed by Audio Video Revolution, as well as by top audio/video
print magazines. One thing I noticed in briefly looking over the
Velodyne was that their fit and finish was one notch better than that
of the Sunfire. To me, the Velodyne looked a little more modern. Then
again, I am nitpicking.

Conclusion
The
Sunfire True Subwoofer Signature EQ is an exceptional product with only
a few worthy competitors. There is no question that the Automatic EQ is
the Signature’s strongest selling point and a great addition to a
historically significant audio/video product. Take it from a reviewer
who has only one possible location in his small apartment for a
subwoofer and who lacks the knowledge to program a subwoofer equalizer
manually – the Sunfire Automatic EQ integrates even with high-end
speakers better than you might expect.

The bottom line
is this: if you are a consumer who does not know how to manually
program an equalizer or who cannot liberally try half a dozen potential
locations for a larger and potentially more obtrusive subwoofer in your
listening room to achieve ideal bass response, you should definitely
consider the Signature EQ. You won’t be disappointed.